KR101477034B1 - Substrate transfer apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a substrate processing system capable of improving productivity by saving a substrate transfer time by continuously loading / unloading a plurality of substrates into a process chamber. A substrate processing system according to the present invention includes: a transfer chamber having a first substrate entry port through which substrates are provided from the outside; A process chamber including first and second substrate supporting portions and a second substrate entrance port connected to the transfer chamber; And transfer chambers provided in the transfer chamber and receiving substrates from the outside through the first substrate entry / exit port and transferring the substrates to the first and second substrate support sections, And a substrate transfer device for transferring the substrate to the outside via an entrance, wherein the substrate transfer device is configured to transfer a substrate between the position for taking over the substrates through the first substrate entrance and the position for transferring the substrate to the first and second substrate supporting parts The first conveying portion includes a first spindle disposed at a position opposite to the first substrate entrance, and a second conveying portion that rotates the first conveying portion and the second conveying portion. And a first rotating plate arm coupled to the first spindle and having a first rotation radius and rotating in a first direction by a first rotation angle and for transporting the substrate to the second substrate support, A second spindle disposed closer to the first substrate entrance port than the first spindle at a position opposite to the first substrate entry / exit port; A first substrate support portion coupled to the second spindle, the first substrate support portion having a second radius of rotation and pivotable in a first direction by a second rotation angle and away from a position that takes over the substrates from the second substrate support portion, Wherein a position for taking over the substrates is formed in front of the first substrate entry / exit port, and the first rotation plate arm and the second rotation plate Wherein an end portion of the plate arm is vertically aligned with one alignment line, a second rotation radius of the second rotation plate arm is smaller than a first rotation radius of the first rotation plate arm, And is larger than the first rotation angle.

Substrate, transport, chamber

Description

[0001] SUBSTRATE TRANSFER APPARATUS [0002]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a substrate processing system, and more particularly, to a substrate processing system capable of increasing productivity by continuously loading / unloading a plurality of substrates into a process chamber, thereby reducing substrate transfer time.

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, a liquid crystal display device, a plasma display device, and a substrate processing apparatus for manufacturing semiconductor devices have generally employed a cluster system capable of processing a plurality of substrates in a single process.

Generally, a cluster system refers to a multi-chamber type substrate processing system that includes a transfer robot (or handler) and a plurality of substrate processing modules provided therearound.

The cluster system includes a transfer chamber and a transfer robot provided freely rotatable in the transfer chamber. At each side of the transport chamber, a process chamber for carrying out the processing process of the substrate is mounted. Such a cluster system increases the throughput of a substrate by simultaneously processing a plurality of substrates or allowing various processes to proceed in succession. Another effort to increase substrate throughput is to process a plurality of substrates simultaneously in one process chamber to increase the substrate throughput per hour.

However, even if a plurality of substrates are processed simultaneously (or continuously) in the process chamber, a time loss occurs if the substrates can not be efficiently exchanged in the process chamber.

In addition, in a typical cluster system, in forming a hexagonal transport chamber (basically composed of four process chambers and two load lock chambers), due to the area occupied by the transport chamber, The installation width of the facility in the line is increased more than necessary and the scale of the vacuum equipment required to keep the transport chamber in a vacuum is increased to increase the equipment cost and installation cost. Further, the area of the transport chamber is further increased as the number of process chambers to be installed increases.

Thus, a substrate transfer apparatus capable of more efficiently exchanging substrates before and after processing, in addition to simultaneously (or continuously) processing a plurality of substrates in a process chamber for processing a plurality of substrates has been developed.

An object of the present invention is to provide a substrate processing system having a substrate transfer apparatus capable of efficiently transferring a substrate.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a substrate processing system capable of reducing the substrate transportation time and improving productivity.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a substrate processing system having a small facility area.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a substrate processing system capable of minimizing an apparatus cost and an installation cost by reducing to an unnecessary vacuum area.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a substrate processing system including: a transfer chamber having a first substrate entrance port through which substrates are provided from the outside; A process chamber including first and second substrate supporting portions and a second substrate entrance port connected to the transfer chamber; And transfer chambers provided in the transfer chamber and receiving substrates from the outside through the first substrate entry / exit port and transferring the substrates to the first and second substrate support sections, And a substrate transfer device for transferring the substrate to the outside via an entrance, wherein the substrate transfer device is configured to transfer a substrate between the position for taking over the substrates through the first substrate entrance and the position for transferring the substrate to the first and second substrate supporting parts The first conveying portion includes a first spindle disposed at a position opposite to the first substrate entrance, and a second conveying portion that rotates the first conveying portion and the second conveying portion. And a first rotating plate arm coupled to the first spindle and having a first rotation radius and rotating in a first direction by a first rotation angle and for transporting the substrate to the second substrate support, A second spindle disposed closer to the first substrate entrance port than the first spindle at a position opposite to the first substrate entry / exit port; A first substrate support portion coupled to the second spindle, the first substrate support portion having a second radius of rotation and pivotable in a first direction by a second rotation angle and away from a position that takes over the substrates from the second substrate support portion, Wherein a position for taking over the substrates is formed in front of the first substrate entry / exit port, and the first rotation plate arm and the second rotation plate Wherein an end portion of the plate arm is vertically aligned with one alignment line, a second rotation radius of the second rotation plate arm is smaller than a first rotation radius of the first rotation plate arm, And is larger than the first rotation angle.

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 The present invention can rapidly perform substrate exchange before and after processing in a substrate processing facility for simultaneously or continuously processing a plurality of substrates, thereby increasing the throughput of facilities and increasing the productivity of the entire substrate. In addition, since a substrate transfer apparatus that simultaneously performs loading and unloading of a substrate is provided, it is very easy to implement a process chamber for processing a plurality of substrates. Further, the present invention can improve the productivity by reducing the substrate transportation time. Further, the present invention can minimize the apparatus cost and the installation cost by drastically reducing the area and system width of the system.

For a better understanding of the present invention, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The embodiments of the present invention may be modified into various forms, and the scope of the present invention should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments described in detail below. The present embodiments are provided to enable those skilled in the art to more fully understand the present invention. Therefore, the shapes and the like of the elements in the drawings can be exaggeratedly expressed to emphasize a clearer description. It should be noted that in the drawings, the same members are denoted by the same reference numerals. Detailed descriptions of well-known functions and constructions which may be unnecessarily obscured by the gist of the present invention are omitted.

Hereinafter, a substrate transfer apparatus and a substrate processing apparatus using the same according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the preferred embodiments of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, the same reference numerals are used to denote elements performing the same function.

 The basic intention of the present invention is to provide a more efficient substrate exchange system in a substrate processing system having a plurality of substrate processing capabilities, thereby improving productivity and drastically reducing the area and width of the system.

1 is a view showing a substrate processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The substrate processing system 1 is provided with a process chamber 200 in which first and second substrate supports 230 and 220 are installed and a transfer chamber 300 is provided in parallel with the process chamber 200. An index 800 for mounting the carrier C is provided in front of the substrate processing system 1 and a load lock chamber 700 is provided between the index 800 and the transfer chamber 300.

Index 800 is also referred to as a facility front end module (hereinafter EFEM), sometimes referred to as a load lock chamber 700. The load lock chamber 700 may be provided with a cooling chamber (not shown) for cooling the post-processing substrate if necessary. Or the transfer chamber 300 to perform the cooling processing function, the separate cooling chamber may be omitted. A separate preheating chamber (not shown) may be provided if preheating of the substrate to the process chamber 200 is required and may not be separately provided if the cooling chamber or transfer chamber is to perform the preheating function .

A first substrate inlet port 310 is formed between the transfer chamber 300 and the load lock chamber 700 and a second substrate port 210 is formed between the transfer chamber 300 and the process chamber 200 . The first and second substrate inlets 310 and 210 are respectively opened and closed by a slit valve (not shown).

The load lock chamber 700 is provided with an atmospheric pressure conveying robot 400 operated at atmospheric pressure. The atmospheric pressure conveying robot 400 takes charge of transferring the substrate between the transfer chamber 300 and the index 800 and is capable of rotating, elevating and lowering. The atmospheric pressure conveying robot 400 can carry two sheets of the substrate W out of the carrier C in a single operation and carry them into the transfer chamber 300 and simultaneously exchange two sheets of the pre- And a robot having a single arm structure each having four end effectors 410 so as to be able to support the robot. The atmospheric pressure conveying robot 400 may be various robots used in a conventional semiconductor manufacturing process in addition to the single arm structure shown in the present embodiment. For example, various types of robots such as a robot having an arm of a blade structure capable of handling four boards as one arm, a robot having two or more arms, or a robot adopting them in combination may be used .

Two substrate supporting portions 220 and 230 are arranged in a line in parallel with the second substrate entrance 210 in the process chamber 200 and are disposed on the rotation path of the rotating plate arms 131, 132, 141 and 142 of the substrate conveying device 100 .

The first substrate supporting part 230 is located closer to the substrate transferring position (or the first substrate entrance) a between the atmospheric pressure conveying robot 400 and the substrate transferring device 100, Is located farther away from the substrate transfer take-over position between the atmospheric transfer robot (400) and the substrate transfer apparatus (100) than the substrate transfer apparatus (230).

The first and second substrate supports 220 and 230 have lift pins for receiving and transferring the substrate w from the substrate transfer apparatus 100. The lift pins of the first and second substrate supports 220 and 230 are mounted on the substrate w, / RTI > are set to be different from each other. For example, the acceptance / take-over height of the first substrate support 230 nearest to the first substrate entrance 310 is the lowest, followed by the second substrate support 230, . The substrate acceptance / take-over height in these substrate supports is set to be different from one another in order to prevent the substrate transport apparatus 100 from interfering with and colliding with the substrates in loading / unloading processes.

For example, the process chamber 200 may have two or more substrate supports, and the number of the rotation plate arms of the substrate transport apparatus 100 may be changed according to the number of the substrate supports.

Wherein the process chamber 200 may be configured to perform various substrate processing operations. For example, the reaction chamber may be an ashing chamber for removing the photoresist using a plasma to remove the photoresist, and the reaction chamber may be a CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition) chamber configured to deposit an insulating film , The reaction chamber may be an etch chamber configured to etch apertures or openings in the insulating layer to form interconnect structures and the reaction chamber may be a PVD chamber configured to deposit a barrier film, Or a PVD chamber configured to deposit a metal film. A number of processing systems may be required to perform all the processes required for the complete fabrication of an integrated circuit or chip.

The substrate W to be processed in the substrate processing system of the present invention is typically a wafer substrate for manufacturing a semiconductor circuit or a glass substrate for manufacturing a liquid crystal display. In addition to the illustrated configuration of the present substrate processing system, multiple processing systems may be required to perform all of the processes required for the complete fabrication of an integrated circuit or chip. However, for the sake of clarity of the present invention, the conventional configuration and the configuration that can be understood by those skilled in the art are omitted.

The transfer chamber 300 is located on one side adjacent to the process chamber 200. The transfer chamber 300 has a first substrate entrance 310 for entering and exiting the substrate with the atmospheric pressure conveying robot 400. The transfer chamber 300 is provided with a substrate transfer apparatus 100. 1 indicates the substrate transfer position between the atmospheric transfer robot 400 and the substrate transfer apparatus 100, and the drawing code P30 indicates the substrate transfer direction by the atmospheric transfer robot 400. R1 and P20 represent the rotation radius and the rotation angle of the first transfer section 130 of the substrate transfer apparatus 100 and R2 and P10 represent the rotation radius of the second transfer section 140 of the substrate transfer apparatus 100, .

FIG. 2 is a view showing the substrate transport apparatus shown in FIG. 1. FIG. FIG. 3 is a view showing a state in which the first and second rotating plate arms are standing by at a standby position, FIG. 4 is a view showing a state in which the first and second rotating plate arms are spread on the first and second substrate supporting portions of the process chamber to be.

2 to 4, the substrate transfer apparatus 100 receives substrates from the atmospheric pressure conveying robot 400 through the first substrate entrance 310 and transfers the substrates to the first and second substrate support units 230 and 220 And transfers the processed substrates from the first and second substrate supporters 230 and 220 to the atmospheric pressure conveying robot 400 through the first substrate inlet /

The substrate transfer apparatus 100 can transfer two wafers w at the same time in the process chamber 200 for processing two wafers w. The substrate transfer apparatus 100 is capable of loading and unloading two wafers w at a time into the first and second substrate supporters 230 and 220. In particular, the first and second substrate supporters 230 and 220 shown in the embodiment of the present invention 230, 220) for transferring the substrate w to a process chamber.

The substrate transfer apparatus 100 may be divided into a first transfer unit 130 and a second transfer unit 140 having different spindles. The first transfer unit 130 has a first turning radius R1 for transferring a substrate between the first substrate supporting unit 230 and a position a for transferring substrates through the atmospheric transfer robot 400. The second transfer part 140 is connected to the second substrate supporting part 220 via the atmospheric pressure transfer robot 400 to transfer the substrate between the position a and the second substrate supporting part 220, And has a radius R2.

The first transfer unit 130 includes first spindle 110 and first rotating plate arms 131 and 132 mounted on the first spindle 110 and having a first rotation radius R1 and rotating by a first rotation angle P20 ). The first rotating plate arms 131 and 132 are composed of a rotating plate arm 131 for loading a substrate before processing and a rotating plate arm 132 for unloading a substrate after processing. End effectors 133 and 134 on which the substrate is placed.

The second transport unit 140 includes second rotating plate arms 141 and 142 mounted on the second spindle 120 and the second spindle 120 and having a second rotating radius R2 and rotating by a second rotating angle P10 ). The second rotary plates 141 and 142 are composed of a rotary plate arm 141 for loading a substrate before processing and a rotary plate arm 142 for unloading the substrate after processing, End effectors 143 and 144 on which the substrate is placed.

3 and 4, the end effectors 133, 134, 143, and 144 of the first and second rotating plate arms 131, 132, 141, and 142 of the first transfer unit 130 and the second transfer unit 140 of the substrate transfer apparatus 100 transfer The substrates are taken over from the atmospheric conveying robot 400 in a state in which they are vertically aligned with one alignment line at a take-over position (standby position) (a) of the chamber 300. When the first and second rotating plate arms 131, 132, 141 and 142 are rotated at a predetermined rotation angle about the first and second spindles 110 and 120, the end effectors of the first and second rotating plate arms 131, 132, 141, And is positioned above the substrate supports 230 and 220.

5 is a view showing a swing motion of the second rotating plate. 6 is a view showing the swing motion of the first rotating plate.

5, the second rotary plates 141 and 142 of the second conveying unit 140 are rotated at a rotation angle (rotation (rotation) angle) instead of the first rotary plates 131 and 132 of the first conveying unit 130, Range). In addition, the second rotary plates 141 and 142 move to the upper portion of the second substrate supporting part 220 via the upper part of the first substrate supporting part 230 during the swing operation. Therefore, it is preferable that the second rotary plates 141 and 142 are positioned below the first rotary plates 131 and 132, respectively. As shown in FIG. 6, the first rotating plates 131 and 132 are responsible for loading / unloading the substrate to the first substrate supporting part 230 located closest to the take-in position a of the substrate. Therefore, it can be seen that the rotation angle of the first rotation plates 131 and 132 of the first transfer unit 130 is smaller than that of the second rotation plates 141 and 142,

7 is a view showing a substrate transfer apparatus in which the first spindle and the second spindle are located on the same line.

7, the first spindle 110 of the first transfer part 130 and the second spindle 120 of the second transfer part 140 are located on the same line. In this case, The area can be increased. As shown in FIG. 7, when the spindles 110 and 120 of the first carry section 130 and the second carry section 140 are located on the same line, and the case where the first carry section 130 and the second Comparing the case where the spindle of the carry section 140 is positioned on another line, it can be seen that the turning radius of the first carry section 130 and the turn radius of the second carry section of FIG. Therefore, the area of the transfer chamber 300 can be relatively increased as the turning radius of the first transfer part 130 and the second transfer part 140 shown in FIG. 7 is increased.

8 is a view showing an embodiment in which the process chambers are disposed symmetrically with respect to each other on both sides of the transfer chamber.

The process chamber 200 may not be disposed only in one direction of the transfer chamber but may be symmetrically disposed on both sides of the transfer chambers 300a and 300b as shown in FIGS.

As shown in FIG. 8, the first process chamber 200-1 and the second process chamber 200-2 are symmetrically disposed on both sides of the transfer chamber 300a. Each of the first process chamber 200-1 and the second process chamber 200-2 includes a first substrate support 230-1 and 230-2 and a second substrate support 220-1 and 220-2, And second substrate outlets 210-1 and 210-2 connected to the chamber 300a. Meanwhile, the transfer chamber 300a provides a triangular space between the first process chamber 200-1 and the second process chamber 200-2, and the transfer chamber 300a is provided at the center of the space with the atmospheric pressure transfer robot 400 Four substrates are provided. In the transfer chamber 300a, the first substrate transfer apparatus 100-1 and the second substrate transfer apparatus 100-2 are arranged symmetrically with respect to each other.

The first substrate carrying apparatus 100-1 and the second substrate carrying apparatus 100-2 are constituted by the first carrying units 130-1 and 130-2 having different spindles and the second carrying units 140-1 and 140-2, .

The first transfer part 130-1 of the first substrate transfer apparatus 100-1 transfers the position a of transferring the substrates through the atmospheric transfer robot 400 to the position a of the first process chamber 200-1 And a first radius of rotation R1 for transporting the substrate between one substrate support 230-1. The second transfer part 140-1 of the first substrate transfer device transfers the substrate between the position a for transferring substrates through the atmospheric transfer robot 400 to the second substrate support part 220-1 of the first process chamber, And has a second turning radius R2 shorter than the first turning radius R1 for carrying.

The first transfer part 130-2 of the second substrate transfer device transfers the substrate between the position a for transferring substrates through the atmospheric pressure transfer robot 400 to the first substrate support part 230-2 of the second process chamber, And has a first turning radius R1 for carrying. The second transfer section 140-2 of the second substrate transfer apparatus is configured to transfer substrates between the position (a) for transferring substrates through the atmospheric transfer robot 400 to the second substrate support section 220-2 of the second process chamber And has a second turning radius R2 shorter than the first turning radius R1 for carrying.

The first transfer units 130-1 and 130-2 of the first and second substrate transfer apparatuses are mounted on the first spindles 110-1 and 110-2 and have a first rotation radius R1 and a first rotation angle P20, The first and second transfer plate arms 140-1 and 140-2 of the first and second substrate transfer apparatuses are mounted on the first spindles 120-1 and 120-2, And second rotation plate arms 141 and 142 having a two rotation radius R1 and rotating by a second rotation angle P20.

It should be noted that the substrate take-over position of the first substrate transfer apparatus 100-1 and the substrate take-over position of the second substrate transfer apparatus 100-2 are vertically aligned with one alignment line, The first substrate transport apparatus 100-1 and the second substrate transport apparatus 100-2 receive substrates from the atmospheric pressure conveying robot 400 while being vertically aligned with one alignment line.

9 is a view showing another embodiment in which the process chambers are disposed symmetrically with respect to each other on both sides of the transfer chamber 300b. 10 is a view showing the substrate transport apparatus shown in Fig.

As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the first process chamber 200-1 and the second process chamber 200-2 are symmetrically disposed on both sides of the transfer chamber 300b. Each of the first process chamber 200-1 and the second process chamber 200-2 includes a first substrate support 230-1 and 230-2 and a second substrate support 220-1 and 220-2, And second substrate outlets 210-1 and 210-2 connected to the chamber 300b. On the other hand, the transfer chamber 300b has a substantially square space between the first process chamber 200-1 and the second process chamber 200-2, and the transfer chamber 300b is transported by the atmospheric pressure transport robot 400 to one side A first substrate entry / exit port 310 through which the substrates enter and exit is provided.

A substrate transfer apparatus 100a is disposed in the transfer chamber 300b. The substrate transfer apparatus 100a is provided with a transfer chamber 300a for transferring a substrate to the first substrate support unit 230-1 of the first process chamber 200-1 A second transfer section 130a-2 for transferring the substrate to the first substrate support section 230-2 of the second process chamber 200-2 and a second transfer section 130a-1 for transferring the substrate to the first process chamber The second substrate supporting part 220-1 of the first process chamber 200-1 and the third substrate carrying part 140a of the second substrate supporting part 220-2 of the second process chamber 200-2 .

The first conveying unit 130a-1 and the second conveying unit 130a-2 have first spindles 110a-1 and second spindles 110a-2 installed at different positions from each other, A rotating plate arm 131 for loading and a rotating plate arm 132 for unloading are installed on the first spindle 110a-1 and the second spindle 110a-2, respectively. The third conveying unit 140a is located between the first conveying unit 130a-1 and the second conveying unit 130a-2 and is rotatably supported on the third spindle 120a-1 by a total of four rotary plate arms 141-1, 141-2, 142-1, 142-2) are installed. Two of the rotation plates of the third transfer section 140a are connected to a rotating plate arm 141 for loading / unloading for transferring the substrate to the second substrate supporting section 220-1 of the first process chamber 200-1 And the other two are rotation plates 141-2 and 142-2 for loading / unloading for transferring the substrate to the second substrate supporting unit 220-2 of the second process chamber 200-2, to be. In this manner, the substrate transfer apparatus 100a shown in FIG. 9 can transfer substrates to the first and second substrate supporting sections of the first and second process chambers 200-1 and 200-2 by applying three transfer sections .

11 and 12 are views showing another embodiment of the substrate transfer apparatus.

11 and 12, the substrate transfer apparatus 500 includes the spindle 510 and the first, second, third, and fourth rotary plate arms 531, 532, 541, and 542. The first, second, third, and fourth rotating plate arms 531, 532, 541, and 542 are installed on a single spindle 510. The first and second substrate supporting portions 230 and 220 support the loading / do. The first and second rotating plate arms 531 and 532 are for carrying the substrate to the first substrate supporting part 230 and the third and fourth rotating plate arms 541 and 542 are for transporting the substrate to the second substrate supporting part 220. In particular, the third and fourth rotary plate arms 541 and 542 are configured to receive the substrates at the substrate transfer take-over position of the transfer chamber and to rotate the second and third rotary plate arms 541 and 542 to have a rotation radius R7 rotated onto the second substrate support unit 220 ) Are constructed in a multi-stage stretch structure. The third and fourth rotary plate arms 541 and 542 are configured such that the expansion and contraction plate arm 543 is retracted by the first distance P70 and the length thereof is varied for transporting the substrate to transport the substrate onto the second substrate supporting unit 220 do.

The first substrate support 230 and the second substrate support 220 are positioned on different rotation centers about the spindle 510. For example, the first substrate supporting portion 230 is positioned at the same turning radius R6 as the position (standby position) a that takes over the substrates from the atmospheric conveying robot 400. Accordingly, the first and second rotating plate arms 531 and 532 can transport the substrate onto the first substrate supporting unit 230 through the swing operation immediately after receiving the substrate from the atmospheric pressure conveying robot 400. However, since the second substrate supporting part 230 is positioned on the rotation radius R7 shorter than the first substrate supporting part 230 with respect to the spindle 510, the length of the third and fourth rotating plate arms 541 and 542 is reduced The substrate is transported onto the second substrate supporting part 220 through the swing operation at a position where the expansion and contraction operation is performed.

Figure 13 shows a process chamber having three substrate supports. Fig. 14 is a view showing the substrate transport to the first, second and third substrate supporting portions, respectively.

As shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, the substrate transfer to the process chamber 200b having three substrate supports 260, 250 and 240 is performed by rotating the rotary plate arm for unloading the rotary plate arm for loading, (550, 560, 570) and a spindle (510a) on which these rotary plate arms are mounted.

More specifically, the substrate transfer apparatus 500a disclosed in FIGS. 13 and 14 includes a first transfer unit (first transfer unit) including first and second rotary plate arms for loading / unloading A second transfer unit 560 including a third and a fourth rotary plate arm for loading / unloading the second substrate supporter 250, and a loading / And a third conveying unit 570 composed of a fifth and a sixth rotary plate arm for unloading. In particular, the third and fourth rotary plate arms and the fifth and sixth rotary plate arms of the second transfer section 560 and the third transfer section 570 take over the substrates at the substrate transfer take-over positions of the transfer chamber 300b The second plate support arm 250 and the third substrate support plate 260 are rotated in a radial direction.

15 and 16 are views showing another embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIGS. 15 and 16, the first process chamber 200b-1 and the second process chamber 200b-2 are symmetrically disposed on both sides of the transfer chamber 300b. Each of the first process chamber 200b-1 and the second process chamber 200b-2 includes a first substrate support unit 260-1 and a second substrate support unit 250-1, 240-1 and 240-2, respectively, and has second substrate outlets 210-1 and 210-2 connected to the transfer chamber 300b. The first and second process chambers include partition walls 290 for partitioning between the first, second and third substrate support portions, and the second substrate entrance ports 210-1 and 210-2 are partitioned by first, And is installed so that the substrate can be moved into and out of the space in which the substrate support portion is located.

The transfer chamber 300b has a substantially rectangular space between the first process chamber 200b-1 and the second process chamber 200b-2. A first substrate entry / exit port 310 through which the substrates enter and exit is provided.

The substrate transfer apparatus 600 is disposed in the transfer chamber 300b. The substrate transfer apparatus 600 includes the first, second, and third substrate support sections 260-1, 250-1, and 240-1 of the first process chamber 200b-1, The first transfer section 630, the second transfer section 640 and the third transfer section 650 for transferring the substrate to the first process chamber 200b-2, A fourth transfer section 660, a fifth transfer section 670, and a sixth transfer section 680 for transferring the substrate to the first transfer section 260-2, 250-2, 240-2. These return portions are provided on one single spindle 610. Each of these carry sections includes a rotary plate arm for loading / unloading, each of which includes at least one joint portion 690 for switching directions in the X and Y axes during substrate transfer. As shown in FIG. 16, the rotary plate arm of the carry section is bent at the joint part 690 to transfer the substrate to each of the substrate supporting parts.

17 is a view showing the installation heights of the first, second and third substrate supporting portions.

As shown in FIG. 17A, the first, second and third substrate supporting portions 260-1, 250-1 and 240-1 of the first process chamber 200b-1 are installed at the same height, 260-1, 250-1, 240-1 may preferably take over the substrate at different heights so that mutual interference does not occur during substrate transportation. Of course, the substrate supporting portions of the second process chamber also have the same configuration, and a description thereof will be omitted.

17B, the first, second and third substrate supporting portions 260-1, 250-1 and 240-1 may be installed at different heights, and the substrate supporting portions 260-1, 250-1 and 240-1, The lift pins all rise to the same height to take over the substrate.

According to the present invention, the height and the area inside the transfer chamber can be made slim, and the installation cost of the substrate transfer apparatus can be reduced. That is, the substrate transfer apparatus installed in the transfer chamber can load and unload a plurality of substrates at one time.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and equivalent arrangements may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. Accordingly, it is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments. Accordingly, the true scope of the present invention should be determined by the technical idea of the appended claims. It is also to be understood that the invention includes all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

The substrate transfer apparatus of the present invention is very useful as a substrate processing system for various substrate processing processes such as the manufacture of semiconductor integrated circuits, the manufacture of flat panel displays, and the manufacture of solar cells.

1 is a view showing a substrate processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a view showing the substrate transport apparatus shown in FIG. 1. FIG.

3 is a view showing a state in which the first and second rotating plate arms are standing by at a standby position.

4 is a view showing a state in which the first and second rotating plate arms are spread on the first and second substrate supporting portions of the process chamber.

5 is a view showing a swing motion of the second rotating plate.

6 is a view showing the swing motion of the first rotating plate.

7 is a view showing a substrate transfer apparatus in which the first spindle and the second spindle are located on the same line.

8 is a view showing an embodiment in which the process chambers are disposed symmetrically with respect to each other on both sides of the transfer chamber.

9 is a view showing another embodiment in which the process chambers are arranged symmetrically with respect to each other on both sides of the transfer chamber.

10 is a view showing the substrate transport apparatus shown in Fig.

11 and 12 are views showing another embodiment of the substrate transfer apparatus.

Figure 13 shows a process chamber having three substrate supports.

14 is a view showing the substrate transport to the first, second and third substrate supporting portions, respectively.

15 and 16 are views showing another embodiment of the present invention.

17 is a view showing the installation heights of the first, second and third substrate supporting portions.

Description of the Related Art [0002]

1: substrate processing system 100: substrate transfer device

110: first spindle 120: second spindle

130: first transport section 140: second transport section

200: process chamber 210: second substrate entrance

220: second substrate supporting part 230: first substrate supporting part

240: third substrate supporting part 250: second substrate supporting part

260: first substrate supporting part 290: partition wall

300: transfer chamber 310: first substrate doorway

400: conveying robot 410: end effector

500: substrate transfer device 510: spindle

600: substrate transfer device 610: spindle

630: Carrier part 640: Second carrier part

650: Third conveying section 660: Fourth conveying section

670: fifth conveying section 680: sixth conveying section

690: joints

Claims (23)

A substrate processing system comprising: A transfer chamber having a first substrate entry port through which substrates are provided from the outside; A process chamber including first and second substrate supporting portions and a second substrate entrance port connected to the transfer chamber; And The transfer chamber is installed in the transfer chamber and receives substrates from the outside through the first substrate entrance port and transfers the substrates to the first and second substrate support sections. After the substrates are transferred from the first and second substrate support sections to the first substrate entrance / And a substrate transfer device for transferring the substrate transferring device to the outside through the substrate transfer device, The substrate transport apparatus includes: And a first conveying unit and a second conveying unit that rotate between a position for taking over the substrates through the first substrate entrance and a position for conveying the substrate to the first and second substrate supporting units, The first conveying unit A first spindle disposed at a position opposite to the first substrate entrance; A first rotating plate arm coupled to the first spindle and having a first rotation radius and pivotable in a first direction by a first rotation angle and carrying the substrate to the second substrate support, The second conveying portion A second spindle disposed closer to the first substrate entrance port than the first spindle at a position opposite to the first substrate entry / exit port; A first substrate support portion coupled to the second spindle, the first substrate support portion having a second radius of rotation and pivotable in a first direction by a second rotation angle and away from a position that takes over the substrates from the second substrate support portion, And a second rotating plate arm for carrying the first rotating plate arm, Wherein a position for taking over the substrates is formed in front of the first substrate entry / exit port, and the end portions of the first rotating plate arm and the second rotating plate arm are perpendicular to one aligning line Aligned, Wherein the second rotation radius of the second rotation plate arm is smaller than the first rotation radius of the first rotation plate arm and the second rotation angle is larger than the first rotation angle. delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete

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